


Suddenly there came a tapping...

by Narsille



Category: October Daye Series - Seanan McGuire
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-23
Updated: 2020-04-23
Packaged: 2021-03-02 02:08:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,393
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23807413
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Narsille/pseuds/Narsille
Comments: 2
Kudos: 9





	Suddenly there came a tapping...

There it came again, a knocking at my door (which was exceptionally strange because I wasn’t expecting anyone). Normally, I have some inkling if anything important is brewing and it’s not like anyone just “dropped in” to visit the Luidaeg. Once the various missionaries had wised up a few decades back, I’d been spared much in the way of uninvited guests. I liked it better that way… And now a third knock. That made it real. Faerie has its rules and a lot of them involve the number three. Nothing to be done now but see who thought they had good enough reason to trouble one of the powers that remain. 

I threw together some hasty glamour’s as I made my way to the door. The first would make the place look a bit more suitable (deepen the shadows, make the air smell of salt, some faint noises reminiscent of the sea shore…) The second would hide the fact that I needed to take out the trash. The last? Well that was something just in case, because anyone powerful enough to shield themselves from my sight had the potential to cause some serious problems.

Or not… Because whatever I expected to see once I cracked opened the door, a scruffy little pre-teen clutching a backpack was most certainly not it. At least I was starting to have an idea why none of my alarm bells had been going off… It was starting to look like it would actually be a quiet day. Perhaps a bit random, but nothing epic. Hopefully no drama.

I’m not sure why I felt the need to seize the upper hand with this kid, but I decided to just sit back and stare. It would be interesting to see how long it took him to summon up enough gumption to break the ice. Not too long I figured. If he decided to show up here at all, he was either brave or really really stupid (or, most likely, a hefty dollop of both). Sure enough, after 30 odd seconds the kid opened up his mouth and spoke: “Excuse me m’lady. Would you be the Luidaeg?” Turns out that the kid was polite, at least… That rated to help him. But then he followed up with “Because I have a question that I wish to ask of you…” which really raised the odds on “really really stupid.” 

Remember how I mentioned that Faerie has its rules? Well, a number of them involve me. And one of the biggest is that I can’t help BUT answer questions. By now, it’s part of what I am. But at the same time, I don’t have to do anything for free. If someone asks me a question, I get to demand a price for that information and I don’t have to be particularly charitable. However, as I said, the kid was polite, and for that he deserved a chance to wriggle off the hook. So, I warned him: “You do know how this works, right? You can ask me any questions that you might like, and if it is in my power, I’ll answer you true. But then you’ll owe me and I’m not someone whom you want to be owing any favors. So think long and hard if this is what you really want.” Silly little bugger that the kid was, he looked me straight in the eyes and said “Yes. Yes it is…” I swear, his voice must have cracked three times in that one short sentence. What was I getting myself into?

Didn’t look like there was any going back now, so I swept the door open, ushered the kid inside, and made my way to the sofa. Might as well be comfortable while whatever this was played out. In turn, the kid dropped his back pack on the floor, sat down opposite me, and tried to compose himself. (It was actually kinda cute). After a minute or two of silence, and summoning up all his courage, he uttered four fateful words: “Carne asada or pollo?” Guess this was going to be a day full of surprises.

“Carne asada or pollo?” I sputtered? “THAT’S your question? What does that even mean?” At which point the kid cocked his head, stared at me for a bit, then looked down at his backpack and then pulled out a couple foil wrapped cylinders. “Carne asada or pollo? Burritos. Which do you prefer?” “Carne asada” I replied, wondering what was going to come next… And the kid reached down, opened one of the cylinders and started chowing down on what looked to be a chicken and rice burrito. “Interesting” the kid replied. There’s a burrito shop not two miles away from here. It does some of the best food in the city…”

So, this was finally starting to come together… “Let me guess”, I said to the kid… “That other burrito shaped thing that’s sitting there, all lonely and all. Carne asada?” “Yeap.” replied the kid. “Real tasty, too. I was hoping that you were going to say pollo.” “And let me guess, once more” I said, “That second burrito. You brought it as a gift. A gift for me?” 

And the kid went a summoned up a little smile and said “Yeap. Everyone is always talking about how terrible and scary the Ludiaeg is. However, I thought that it sounded like you were getting a bum wrap. And that what you really needed was for someone to do something nice for you, and just try to make sure that you had a good day once and a while… So I”

And with that, I cut the little beggar off before he could do any more damage to himself. “Do you have any idea just how stupid this entire scheme was? Do you have any idea what you’ve done? Do you know what it means to give a GIFT to one of the fae? No of course not. Because you’re all of what? Eleven? Twelve? And let me guess… You thought that I’d just take the second burrito and call this all even? And you’d have such the story to tell, wouldn’t you… And how did you even find out where I live? And ‘bum wrap’? Could that horrible a pun even be deliberate? UH!” After a few seconds of thought I told him: “Just sit there. And you might as well eat that second burrito because you’re far too skinny and there’s no way you’re getting off that easy.” 

I’ll say this much for the guy. He was a trencherman. He was obviously shocked at my reply, but that didn’t stop him from opening up the second foil wrapped package and starting to scarf it down. Damn if it didn’t smell good. Really good. “Dos Hermanos?” I asked the kid, who nodded in the affirmative. Well, at least he had good taste… And with that, his fate was sealed. I knew what I was asking for and what he would now be forced to pay.

“So, here’s the deal, kid. You were right about one thing. Burritos. One of the best things you mortals have come up with… And Dos Hermanos. For San Francisco, they’re good. But I’ve had better. Much better. And I’m going to want better. You have a month. No, four weeks. And at the end of that, you’re going to bring me a burrito that you’ve made yourself. And this had damn well better be the best burrito that I’ve ever had. Because, if not, well, then there’s always May. And June. And July. And however long it takes you to get this right. One burrito. Every 4th week. Until you’re the best there ever was…”

And, with that, I showed the kid to the door. I think that he was only just starting to realize what he had gotten himself into. But, just in case he hadn’t, I decided to give him some parting words of wisdom. “Daniel” I said “None of those store bought tortillas. Do things right. You might even want to consider nixtamalizing your own corn. It can make a big difference…” Poor kid, he had no idea what I was talking about. But that’s what the internet is for. 

I wonder how long it would take him to figure out that I prefer cabra?


End file.
